FACTORS AFFECTING

INTERNAL
RESISTANCE OF A
WIRE
EFFECT OF LENGTH,AREA OF CROSS
SECTION AND TEMPERATURE

Certificate
Roll No. .
Certified that Miss ..
Of grade section .. has
carried out Case Profile in Physics prescribed
by the Central Board of Secondary
Education, New Delhi during the academic
year ...

Teacher in charge

Date:

.
External Examiner
Examiner

Internal

INDEX
S.NO

TOPIC

PAGE NO:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank my physics teacher for giving me

the opportunity to do this project and for always being
ready to clear my doubts.

I would also like to thank the lab assistants for helping

me in the practical phase of this experiment.

I would also like to thank my group members for being

very cooperative and supportive in all the research and
the actual performance of the experiment.

I would also like to thank my parents for allowing me to

do all the necessary research and always being
supportive.

INTRODUCTION
Georg Simon Ohm was
a German physicist and mathematician. As a
school teacher, Ohm began his research with the
new electrochemical cell, invented by Italian
scientist Alessandro Volta. Using equipment of his
own creation, Ohm found that there is a direct
proportionality between the potential
difference(voltage) applied across a conductor
and the resultant electric current. This
relationship is known as Ohm's law.

Ohm's Law deals with the relationship between

voltage and current in an ideal conductor. This
relationship states that: The potential
difference (voltage) across an ideal
conductor is proportional to the current
through it. The constant of proportionality is
called the "resistance", R.

FACTORS AFFECTING THE

RESISTANCE OF A GIVEN WIRE
Resistance is defined as an obstacle to the flow
of electric current.It is the opposition offered by
any object to the passage of an electric current
through it.
Resistance is a numerical quantity that can be
measured and expressed mathematically. The
standard metric unit for resistance is the ohm.
The equation representing the dependency of the
resistance of a cylindrically shaped
conductor(e.g; a wire) upon the variables that
affect is given by,

Resistance of a conductor depends on its

length, cross section, temperature and
material.
1.

Dependence on length :
Resistance is directly proportional to the
length of the conductor .

2.

Dependence on area :
Resistance is inversely proportional to the
cross section of the conductor.

3.

Dependence of temperature :
When the temperature increases, the
relaxation time t decreases. The time
t is inversely proportional to
resistance , therefore resistance
increases.

APPLICATIONS OF OHMS LAW

1. Ohm's law is used to calculate the proper resistance
needed for a particular voltage drop.

2. Ohms law is used to measure the resistance of

speakers and other audio equipment.

3. Ohms law is used to regulate the speed of the fan

and the brightness of light bulbs in electrical circuits.

EXPERIMENT 1
AIM: To study the effects of change in length on
the resistance of a wire.
APPARATUS:- A battery eliminator, an ammeter, a
voltmeter, resistance wires of different
lengths (10 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm), connecting
wires, a one way key.
THEORY:- The formula for resistance of a wire as
given by Ohms Law is R= *

L
A

Where R is the resistance of the wire

is the resistivity of the wire
L is the length of the wire
A is the Area of Cross section of the wire.

According to the given equation,

RL

So, resistance increases with increase in area

of cross section.
PROCEDURE
1.Connect the circuit as shown in the circuit
diagram below.

2.In the place of the resistor, connect the 10

cm wire.
3.Close the circuit and take the readings on the
ammeter and voltmeter.
4.Repeat three times.
5.Replace the 10 cm wire with 20 cm wire.
6.Repeat steps 3 and 4.

7.Replace the 20 cm wire with the 30 cm wire.

8.Repeat steps 3 and 4.
9.Draw a graph of the readings.

OBSERVATIONS
For 10 cm wire
SN
O
1
2
3

Potential
V(V)
0.7
0.7
0.7

MEAN R =

Current I(A)
1.1
1.1
1.1

0.63+ 0.63+0.63
3

Resistance
R()
0.63
0.63
0.63

= 0.63

For 20 cm wire
SN
O
1
2
3

Potential
V(V)
0.8
0.9
0.9

MEAN R=

0.89+ 1+ 1
3

Current I(A)
0.9
0.9
0.9
= 0.96

Resistance
R()
0.89
1
1

For 30 cm wire

SNO
1
2
3

Potential
V(V)
1
1
1

Current
I(A)
0.6
0.6
0.7

1.66+ 1.66+1.42
3

MEAN R=

Resistance
R()
1.66
1.66
1.42

= 1.59

CALCULATIONS
Graph of resistance vs length
RESISTANCE vs LENGTH
1.8

SCALE

1.6
1.4

X axis = 1 unit =
5cm
Y axis = 1 unit =

1.2
1
Resistance of wire()

0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
5

10

15

20

25

Length of wire(cm)

30

35

RESULT
The resistance of the wire increases with
increase in length.
PRECAUTIONS
1.Ensure that the wires are of same area of
cross section.
2.Ensure that the ammeter and voltmeter are
properly connected.
SOURCES OF ERROR
1.The wires may have different areas of cross
section.
2.The circuit may be improperly connected.

EXPERIMENT 2

AIM: To study the effects of change in the area of

cross section of the wire on resistance.
APPARATUS AND MATERIALS REQUIRED: Battery
eliminator, a resistance wire of different areas of
cross section , a volt meter, an ammeter, a
battery, screw gauge, one way key, connecting
wires, two metallic wires.
THEORY: As given by the Ohms law, resistance of
a wire is
R= lA
Where,

= resistivity of the wire

l=length of the wire

A=area of cross section of the wire
Hence, resistance is inversely proportional to
area of cross section of the wire.
PROCEDURE:
1.Measure the areas of the two given wires
using a screw gauge.
2.Connect the apparatus as shown in the circuit
diagram.
3.Connect the thin resistance wire in place of
the resistor with the voltmeter across its
ends.
4.Determine the least count of the ammeter
and the voltmeter.

5.Record three readings of ammeter and

voltmeter at different positions of the wire.
6.Replace the thin wire with the thick wire.
7.Record three sets of independent readings.
OBSERVATIONS:
Diameter of the thin wire =0.043 cm
S. No.
1.
2.
3.

Potential (V
)
0.7
0.7
0.7
Mean resistance=

Current ( I ) Resistance
(ohm)
1.2
0.58
1.2
0.58
1.2
0.58
0.58 ohm

Diameter of the thick wire =0.072 cm

S.No.

Potential
Current
(V)
(I)
1.
0.4
1.6
2.
0.4
1.6
3.
0.4
1.6
Mean resistance= 0.25 ohm

CALCULATIONS

Resistance
(R)
0.25
0.25
0.25

Zero error of screw gauge= 3 divisions

Diameter of thin wire= 0.046 cm
Corrected diameter= 0.043 cm
Diameter of thick wire = 0.075cm
Corrected diameter = 0.073cm

Graph of resistance vs area of cross section

RESISTANCE vs AREA OF CROSS-SECTION
0.7

SCALE

0.6

X axis = 1 unit =
0.02cm
Y axis = 1 unit =
0.1

0.5
0.4
Resistance of wire()

0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0.04

0.05

0.05

0.06

0.06

0.07

Area of cross - section of wire(cm)

RESULT:
The resistance of the wire decreases with
increase in area of cross section.

PRECAUTIONS:

0.07

0.08

1.The connections should be neat, clean and

tight.
2.Voltmeter and ammeter should be of
proper range.
SOURCES OF ERROR:
1.Instrument screws maybe loose.
2.The plugs may not be clean.

EXPERIMENT 3

DEPENDENCE OF
TEMPERATURE ON RESISTANCE
OF A WIRE
AIM: To study the effect of temperature on the
resistance of a wire
APPARATUS:
Metalliccoil,Glycerol,thermometer,multimeter,Bunsen
burner,retort stand,tripod stand,beaker ,test tube.
THEORY :
The reasons for these changes in resistivity can be
explained by considering the flow of current through the
material. The flow of current is actually the movement of
electrons from one atom to another under the influence
of an electric field. Electrons are very small negatively
charged particles and will be repelled by a negative
electric charge and attracted by a positive electric charge.
Therefore if an electric potential is applied across a
conductor (positive at one end, negative at the other)
electrons will "migrate" from atom to atom towards the
positive terminal.
Only some electrons are free to migrate however.
Others within each atom are held so tightly to their
particular atom that even an electric field will not
dislodge them. The current flowing in the material
is therefore due to the movement of "free

electrons" and the number of free electrons within

any material compared with those tightly bound to
their atoms is what governs whether a material is a
good conductor (many free electrons) or a good
insulator (hardly any free electrons).
The effect of heat on the atomic structure of a
material is to make the atoms vibrate, and the
higher the temperature the more violently the
atoms vibrate.
In a conductor, which already has a large number
of free electrons flowing through it, the vibration
of the atoms causes many collisions between the
free electrons and the captive electrons. Each
collision uses up some energy from the free
electron and is the basic cause of resistance. The
more the atoms jostle around in the material, the
more collisions are caused and hence the greater
the resistance to current flow.

TEMPERATURE CO-EFFICIENT OF RESISTANCE

Temperature co-efficient of a resistance is the
amount by which resistance changes when
temperature changes per degree centigrade.It is
representated by alpha ().

When we increase the temperature and as a result

the resistance increases , the temperature of those
materials have a positive temperature co-efficient
and those whose temperature decreases have a
negative temperature coefficient.
Change in resistance :R = Rt R0
R is directly proportional to the initial resistance,
R0i.e. R R0
R
is directly proportional to the
rise in
temperature, to C i.e. R to C
R R0t
R =R0t
Rt R = R0t
Rt = R0t + R0
Rt = R0(t + 1)
PROCEDURE :
1.Fill a test tube with glycerol.
2.Dip the metallic coil in it.
3.Dip the thermometer in the test tube in
between the coil.
4.Connect the coil to multimeter .
5.Immerse the test tube partially in a
beaker filled with water.
6.The beaker should be heated.
7.Record temperature and resistance
readings at regular intervals.
OBSERVATIONS:
S.NO

TEMPERATU RESISTANCE(
RE(0C)
OHMS)

1.

40

0.8

2.

50

1.4

3.

60

4.

70

2.6

5.

80

3.2

GRAPH:

TEMPERATURE Vs RESISTANCE
3.5

SCALE

X axis = 1 unit =
100c

2.5

Y axis = 1 unit =
0.5

RESISTANCE IN OHMS

1.5
1
0.5
0
40

45

50

55

60

65

70

75

TEMPERATURE IN 0C

RESULT:
When the temperature of a wire
increases, the resistance value of the
wire will also increase.

PRECAUTIONS:
1. The current should be passed for a
small time to avoid heating effect.
2. There should not be parallax while
taking the reading of thermometer.

80

85

SOURCES OF ERROR:
1.The resistance of coil may increase
slightly due to heating effect of current.
2.There may be parallax while taking
thermometer readings.

FURTHUR SCOPE OF THE PROJECT

Ohm's law is an empirical law, a generalization from many

experiments that have shown that current is approximately
proportional to electric field for most materials. It is less
fundamental than Maxwell's equations and is not always
obeyed. Any given material will break down under a strongenough electric field, and some materials of interest in
electrical engineering are "non-ohmic" under weak fields.
Ohm's law has been observed on a wide range of length
scales. In the early 20th century, it was thought that Ohm's
law would fail at the atomic scale, but experiments have not
borne out this expectation. As of 2012, researchers have
demonstrated that Ohm's law works for silicon wires as small
as four atoms wide and one atom high.
Light bulbs, like everything else in an electrical circuit are
both conductors and resistors - electricity flows through them
but there is some element of resistance. Ohms law describes
the relationship between voltage, current and resistance (Volts
= Amps * Resistance) and can also be mapped to power
(Watts = Volts * Amps).
- Traditional incandescent light bulbs are quite effective as
resistors and their resistance increases as they get hotter,
meaning they don't properly obey Ohms law. As you can work
out from the formulae above, if the current remains constant
and resistance increases then more power will be dissipated in
the form of light and heat (about 1 part light to 9 parts heat).
- The obvious implication is that most of the energy put into
an incandescent light bulb goes to waste producing an

unwanted by-product as only 10% of the electricity goes

towards producing light. Also, because they work by heating a
metal filament to near melting point they don't last well (about
2,000 hours) before needing to be thrown away and replaced.
- The effects on the environment are simple to understand.
Incandescent light bulbs require more energy than energy
saving bulbs that produce the same amount of light but waste
less energy as heat. So incandescents both directly and
indirectly heat the atmosphere - in operation and as a result of
burning more fuel (oil, coal, etc) to produce the extra
electricity.
- But not only do incandescent bulbs result in generating
excess heat, they also increase CO2 emissions, again as a
result of burning fossil fuel. And of course, light bulbs need to
be manufactured and transported to shops constantly in order
to keep pace with replacements, which requires yet more
energy and also contributes non-degradable waste for
landfills.
- Energy saving lights address these negative impacts on the
environment because they use less electricity in the first place,
produce less direct heat, and last longer resulting in less
replacement activity and cost and less waste. The net result in
that we can continue to light our world but using considerably
less energy, for which read: burning less fossil fuel since that's
where almost all our energy currently comes from. This
translates into much reduced heat and CO2 emission into the
atmosphere, thereby benefiting the environment as a whole.

- Energy saving lights fall into two main camps: CFL

(compact fluorescent lamp) and LED (light emitting diode).
Of the two, LEDs are way ahead in terms of energy saving,
effectively run cold, and don't contain highly toxic mercury
vapour (for this reason, used CFLs are classed as hazardous
waste in most countries). Since LEDs are also essentially
electronic devices, their development trajectory mirrors that
seen with computing electronics - doubling in power every 18
months while constantly falling in price. CFLs on the other
hand have pretty much reached the end of the road where
further development is concerned.